Inquiring Minds Always Knew We Could...

By Marsha M. Rea

Congratulations Friends and Neighbors!  A new era is about to dawn in our fair city, with the election of a trio of councilmembers who understand that integrity, transparency, accountability and fact-based knowledge of how good government is supposed to work are the bedrock of a sustainable community. Now, with the addition of Councilmember John Procter, Councilmember Ginger Gherardi and Councilmember Jenny Crosswhite to sit with Councilmember Martin Hernandez and Councilmember Jim Tovias, we, who live here in Santa Paula, will be able to look forward to community identified goals, and a sophisticated and experienced group of electeds who will provide the leadership we need to meet them.

For too many years, at least in the opinion of the writer, we have slogged, exhausted, through the muck and mire of serious issues that for whatever reason were never resolved.  One could go one for pages, but let’s just look at a few of the most outstanding and disheartening examples: from ill-conceived sewer rates that have almost doubled utility costs (to pay for garden irrigation water that never sees the sewer plant), those always “just-over-the-next-hill/around-the-next-corner” bonds for the re-purchase of the water treatment plant, the new accounting system to replace the virtual abacus that’s been in use at city hall for decades (funding for which, BTW, was to come from the $2 million sale of the old sewer plant site, but which somehow has been hijacked in large part to match funding from a local corporation, that has not been forthcoming, one has been told, because no utilization plan has been completed for the grant, after more than a year!), the fact that we have had no licensed engineer on staff overseeing the city’s Public Works department (isn’t this illegal?), and lastly... what’s up with our rotting streets that are tearing our cars to pieces??  The opportunity costs that have been endured by the city due to bad government over the past few years are really inexcusable.

New Councilmember Gherardi is a widely acknowledged expert in identifying and acquiring creative funding resources for infrastructure projects at the state and federal levels; Councilmember Procter has been working with the Southern California Association of Governments for the past few years and has developed relationships with leaders from other communities that will surely provide new ideas for solving our many problems. Councilmember Crosswhite is newer to the community, but with her bi-lingual, compassionate and intellectual approach to community outreach and issue analysis one believes she will bring an underrepresented segment of our neighbors to participate at the civic table.  And it’s about time... Councilmember Hernandez has been the sole voice of reasoned and knowledgeable approaches to issues before the council for the past two years; however, as two politicians from other cities in the county recently said to the writer... from their observation, “The majority shoved him into a closet and locked the door.” ignoring any benefit his professional experience could have provided... yet another opportunity cost born by the community.  So sad for the rest of us.

Well Virginia, the door has been opened, a fresh breeze is blowing through and the new brooms have been delivered.  Now we can get down to the work of sweeping away the cobwebs, shining lights into dark corners and deciding what kind of town we want our community to be. It’s our opportunity to take Santa Paula forward to regain its former standing as one of the bright lights of city government in Ventura County, a reputation that has been utterly lost in recent years, as we have become the butt of quiet jokes at municipal government gatherings.